There's A Secret In Your Laughter
by butimbroken
Summary: Buffy/Angel. Buffy mistakes Angel for the male stripper her friends have hired for her birthday party. AU. COMPLETE.


**Not Mine. Idea Branching Off Of A Designing Women Episode Bahaha. Which I Don't Own Either In Case You Were Wondering.**

Buffy couldn't believe her eyes, and it had nothing... well, maybe a little, to do with the amount of alcohol she'd already consumed this evening. It wasn't that she'd really loaded up or anything, she was just never good at holding her liquor. In any event, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

She had been trying to throw her friends, Cordelia and Anya, off of the idea of hiring a male stripper as entertainment for this little girl's only birthday bash party they'd decided to throw her. They, however, would not listen. Realizing it was no use, Buffy gave up. This, of course, only excited them more. When they began to ask questions about what she wanted, which was rather surprising itself, she doubt they cared what her opinion about it really was, but jokingly she had answered. Her wishlist? Tall, dark and handsome, of course. She wanted at least six feet or taller, short, spiked and dark hair, dark eyes to match. She wanted him clean shaven, well-kept. A nice, strong body, that included _everything_. She wanted to make sure they were getting their money's worth here. She wanted him cased in silk and leather. She wanted dangerous, sweet, and smoldering.

'And whew, boy, did they ever deliver,' she thought staring across the room at one hell of a handsome stranger. She was already drooling as she tried to imagine when he decided to stop acting like he was part of a different group over there and get down to business.

Naked kind of business.

For her.

"You guys are the best!" Buffy happily said, putting her arms around the two responsible for this gorgeous piece of ass. "You went above and beyond, my friends. Above. And. Beyond!"

The two brunettes exchanged looks behind the birthday girl's back.

"Well, Buffy, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Cordelia said, still confused.

"Not yet, but I will be soon," Buffy half sang. Then she smiled. "Actually, you know what, I'm going to go get the ball rolling." And with that, she began crossing the club floor to the handsome devil.

"That was odd, right?" Cordelia asked.

Willow, not having any real knowledge of the stripper plans, only what she'd heard in passing from her friends, joined the two staring after the blonde. "Who's that?"

"Who's who?" Then Cordelia's eyes went wide as she looked at Buffy and the man she was heading toward, her brain putting the pieces together. "Oh, no. This is not going to be good."

"What?" Willow asked, completely confused.

Cordelia was about to yell for Buffy to stop but she knew it was too late. Instead, she slapped a hand to her forehead and waiting for the insanity to begin.

"You are even better than I could have imagined," Buffy announced.

The handsome stranger turned his head at her voice, an amused smile gracing his face as he did a double take, realizing she was talking to him. "Excuse me?"

Buffy walked closer, not trying to hide it one bit as she drank him in. "You're exactly what I asked for," she told him, her hand reaching out to lightly grab at his arm. "And more."

His eyes traveled down to where she was touching him. Then to her face. Then he looked over his shoulder to his two friends with a look silently asking if they were behind this.

They apparently weren't.

His eyes went back to the blonde. "I'm Angel," he offered, feeling both confused and amused.

"Indeed you are," she replied, licking her lips. "So, can you get naked already?"

The man who'd introduced himself as Angel burst out into laughter. "You wanna at least buy me a drink first?"

Buffy propped an elbow up on the bar, leaning just a tiny bit closer to him. "You know, looking like that, it's hard to see a reason why you would have any stage fright or whatever it is you've got going on."

Again Angel laughed. His two friends, one Irish, one British, exchanged their own looks.

Angel's friend, Wesley, looked the blonde over again. "Who are you exactly?" he couldn't help but ask. No one seemed like they were going to.

Buffy rolled here eyes. "As if you don't know," she said but decided to play along, "I'm Buffy. The birthday girl," she smiled, nodding her head toward the small set up they had. She never took her eyes off of Mister Tall, Dark and Handsome though. "And what a happy one it is."

"So... I'm supposed to be some sort of... present, if you will for you?"

Buffy smiled and was about respond when Willow interrupted, clearing her throat nervously. "Willow!" she greeted. She threw her arms around the man who she was still waiting to get near naked for her. "Look what Cordy and Anya bought me."

Angel looked at the blonde then the redhead. "Hi," he greeted with a large smile.

"Uh..."

"His name is Angel," Buffy jumped in. "Isn't that adorable? And perfect? He's not taking his clothes off yet."

Willow's eyes widened and she blushed. "Umm... Buffy... he's not..."

Angel held up a hand. "You're rather impatient."

Buffy smiled. "What can I say? I wanna open my present."

"Buffy!"

Angel chuckled, at both women. His snickering friends behind him as well. They were getting a kick out of this. "How about you and I take this somewhere a little more private? Then you can... er... unwrap this present all you want."

Again, Buffy found herself being interrupted when the doors opened in a loud entrancey manner, a punk-ish looking platinum blonde strolling in. "Where's the birthday girl?" a British voice rang out.

Buffy took him in, watching as he started dancing and such. All the blood seemed to drain from her face. She looked over at Willow, seeing her horrified expression and knew the truth then and there. 'Oh God!' Slowly, Buffy looked at the man she'd been mistaking for her entertainment and all but jumped away from him. "You're not my stripper, are you?" she asked.

Angel laughed. "Well, I wouldn't rule it out just yet. The night's still young."


End file.
